Pop-Up Youth goes off in South Australia
Pop-Up Youth goes off in South Australia
22 December 2016
A year marked by God’s faithfulness is how Divisional Youth and Children’s Ministry Assistant Denise Allen would describe the success of their South Australian Divisional youth hubs in 2016.
It was the first time the division had opted for smaller, more localised youth gatherings, rather than divisional events.
“This year we split the divisions and localised our events, matching local corps with each other. The larger events were sometimes scary for some youth. This time we saw more kids bring friends and link in with local corps and build relationships, so they were more likely to come to future events. At larger divisional events sometimes they aren't able to make those links and build relationships,” Denise said.
Youth who have participated at the hubs events are also invited to Summer Carnival, the Southern Territory’s annual youth camp on Phillip Island, running from 9-13 January.
The final hub gathering of 2016 drew more than 40 youth and leaders from Adelaide Congress Hall and surrounding corps (including Marion, Arndale and Noarlunga), who came out to enjoy the summer weather and met in the Adelaide City Parklands for “Pop-Up Youth”. Setting up couches and beanbags, they played board games, hung out and relaxed in style.
Following an epic game of Archery Attack, the youth heard from Duan Kereru, from the Public Relations department at DHQ. Sharing his story, he encouraged the youth to trust in God and reminded them of his amazing plan for their lives. He finished off the night by challenging them to surrender completely to God.
“We are so thankful for how God has used these hubs to create opportunities for meeting new people and deepening relationships,” said Denise, who explained that other events throughout the year had included “a night in the hills, a giant nerf war and a worship night”.
“The local events are like divisional events on a smaller scale. The hope is that these hub events can continue into 2017 so that corps can continue networking with each other and building relationships with youth in their local areas.”
Starting the new year with Summer Carnival at Phillip Island, the team is full of expectation about what God will do locally and nationally in 2017.
“We can only be excited for what God is going to do next,” Denise said.
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